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Ken Wallentine

Law Enforcement and the Law

Ken Wallentine is a former police chief of the West Jordan (Utah) Police Department and former chief of law enforcement for the Utah Attorney General. He has served over four decades in public safety, is a legal expert and editor of Xiphos, a monthly national criminal procedure newsletter. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death and serves as a use of force consultant in state and federal criminal and civil litigation across the nation.

LATEST ARTICLES
The girl looks into the phone with a magnifying glass, search concept
Legal
Searching cell phones: Warrants, scope and plain view
If evidence of another crime is discovered in a lawful search, the Fourth Amendment does not require you to ignore it
October 19, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
After Chatrie GettyImages-490474064.png
Legal
When the camera becomes a tracker: ALPRs after Chatrie
When does a collection of individually lawful public observations become a constitutionally significant record of a person’s movements?
October 14, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Collective knowledge GettyImages-1299371357.png
Legal
Collective knowledge, not collective guessing: Reasonable suspicion and the fellow-officer rule
Officers investigating jointly may combine the facts each has learned, and an investigator’s reasonable suspicion or probable cause can justify another’s stop, search or arrest
October 12, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Burglary
Legal
Supreme Court puts geofence warrants inside the Fourth Amendment
Law enforcement conducts a Fourth Amendment search when it obtains historical cellphone location information from a third-party provider, the court ruled
October 05, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Professional Protester
Legal
Contempt of cop is not active resistance
Force is not a tool for correcting bad manners, settling an argument or responding to disrespect
October 01, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Police officer searching car trunk on highway traffic stop daylight
Legal
Vehicle inventory searches depend on clear policies
A well-written policy establishes legitimate objectives, identifies when authority may be exercised, defines its scope and places reasonable limits on officer discretion
September 29, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Night Establishing Shot: Empty Crime Scene in Back Alley. Covered Victim's Body on the Floor with Marked Evidence. Paramedics, Police and Forensics are on Site. Do-not-Cross Tape Restricting the Area
Legal
The threat does not disappear between shots
The knife had been dropped — but that wasn’t all a deputy could consider
September 17, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Police officers knocking at a front door of a house
Legal
When a welfare check justifies warrantless entry under the Fourth Amendment
A deputy entered his home to protect him, not arrest him — but the encounter changed when he grabbed a rifle
September 16, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Policewoman questioning suspect or witness
Legal
ADA requires reasonable accommodations, not unreasonable risks
Officers need not ignore immediate threats, prolong dangerous situations or place themselves at unreasonable risk
September 11, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine
Right number, wrong phone GettyImages-2193655738.png
Legal
Right number, wrong phone: When a search warrant doesn’t cover a new device
Taking time to ensure the warrant accurately matches the device may determine whether critical evidence is admitted or suppressed
September 09, 2026 08:00 AM
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Ken Wallentine